Disclaimer: - I, SSG-Goku3397, do not own Naruto and any related matter. It all belongs to Kishimoto, the original brain behind the character Naruto. The only thing that I do own is the plot of this story and any original jutsu, seals, concepts and OC's that are present within the story.
"Thoughts / Telepathic Speech"
"Speech"
Letters / Jutsu notes
Chapter 1 – Trials of a Sage
Naruto appeared in the clearing in a swirl of leaves. The Forbidden Scroll strapped to his back. After laying the Forbidden Scroll on the ground, he took out an empty scroll, an ink well and a brush before he started reading through the Forbidden Scroll, writing down any jutsu that he and Kurama thought would be useful. After nearly half-an-hour, he rolled up the Forbidden Scroll and strapped it back onto his back. He blew on the fresh ink to dry it so that he could roll up the scroll and place it back in his equipment pouch.
"Alright, now that the scroll is dry, I can get to learn that new jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed before he created a hundred Kage Bunshin. "Alright you guys, you know the hand seals, get to practicing!"
"Alright Boss!" The clones called out as they started practicing the jutsu Naruto asked of them.
For the next hour, the clone practiced the jutsu while the original was meditating with a bit of senjutsu chakra flowing through him allowing him to sense if anyone is close by. When the hour was nearly up, Sakura walked into the clearing ready for war.
"Hello Sakura-chan, you are just in time. Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-teme are close by. They should be here within five minutes." Naruto said as he let the natural energy return to nature as he stood up. Sakura nodded her head as Naruto started dispelling his clone. "Huh, I didn't expect them to become proficient with the jutsu already!"
"What jutsu did you learn Naruto?" Sakura asked with curiosity only for Naruto to grin.
"You will see when I use it on Mizuki-teme!" Naruto said causing Sakura to huff but nod in understanding.
"Alright, then I will hide using Moguragakure no Jutsu." Naruto nodded as Sakura submerged into the ground without even leaving a trace of her presence.
"Why would Naruto steal the Forbidden Scroll?" Iruka thought as he rushed through the forests surrounding Konoha. As he was passing close by to an abandoned cabin, he sensed Naruto's chakra signature. Changing his direction, he quickly rushed towards Naruto for an explanation. Within a couple of minutes, Iruka appeared on the branch of a tall tree and saw Naruto creating a few Kage Bunshin before dispelling them and again creating a few before dispelling them again.
"Naruto, what are you doing?" Iruka called out as he jumped down from the tree and landed beside the blond haired Jinchūriki.
"Iruka-sensei, I found you!" Naruto exclaimed only for Iruka to shout out, "BAKA, I am the one who found you! What were you thinking stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing?"
"But Mizuki-sensei said that if I could steal it and learn a jutsu from it, I would pass and become the Rookie of the Year!" Naruto said with confusion, hoping that Iruka will not realize that he was faking being confused. After all, he already knew the test was a lie.
"Mizuki, but why would he say something like that?" Iruka said before he heard the sound of a shuriken flying towards them. Iruka looked up to see a Fūma Shuriken flying towards Naruto's back. Naruto was about to jump away when Iruka pushed him out of the way, the Fūma Shuriken digging deep into Iruka's chest. Coughing up blood, Iruka glared up at Mizuki. "So that was your plan Mizuki! Have Naruto steal the Forbidden Scroll, then you come by and kill him! Do you hate him that much?"
Mizuki laughed at that, "You are naïve Iruka. It is not that I hate the gaki. In fact, he and I are a lot similar. Like me, he took the first chance to become stronger. I will take the scroll after killing you two and then head to Orochimaru-sama! He shall then grant me great strength!" Iruka and Naruto frowned as Mizuki declared that.
"I won't let you get the Scroll teme! I hate traitors and you will die you're your treachery!" Naruto screamed as he threw a Fūton chakra coated kunai at Mizuki who just leaned back, letting the kunai punch through the tree trunk behind Mizuki.
"Naruto, have you wondered why the village seems to hate you?" Mizuki said with a sick grin causing Iruka to panic while Naruto put on a curious look.
"No Mizuki, you mustn't! It is forbidden!" Iruka called out before he coughed up a bit of blood.
"Let me tell you then, you are the Kyūbi no Yōkō! You are the demon fox that attacked Konoha twelve years ago!" Mizuki said expecting Naruto to freeze up. Unfortunately, for the traitor, Naruto just lowered his head, causing his bangs to cover his eyes. After a moment, a small chuckle left Naruto causing both Chunin to stare at the blond Jinchūriki in shock.
"You really don't understand Fūinjutsu, do you teme? Moreover, we have known about the Kyūbi for a long time now. Isn't that right Sakura-chan?" Naruto said causing both of the Chunin to look at him in confusion.
"What do you mean Naruto? Sakura isn't here?" Iruka said just before the ground under Mizuki exploded with the pink haired Kunoichi emerging from the newly created hole with her fist cocked back.
"CHAA," Sakura chanted as she struck Mizuki with a chakra-enhanced punch launching the traitor back before he puffed into smoke revealing a splintered log. Using a quick Shunshin, Sakura appeared beside Iruka. "Hold on Iruka-sensei. I will heal you up."
Before Iruka could even protest, Sakura pulled the Fūma Shuriken out and placed a green glowing hand on the wound. Iruka looked surprised but smiled when the soothing feeling of the Iryō Chakra permeated the wound causing it to heal up quickly. After Iruka was healed up, Sakura turned to Naruto and asked, "Naruto, where is the teme?"
"He is on the tree at 9'O Clock from our position," Naruto said, as the sides of eyes were pigmented orange again. His sclera was now yellow and his pupils were horizontal bars. Sakura nodded before she rushed towards the tree and with a single punch, caused it to fall as the punch reduced the base to tinder.
"How is she this string?" Iruka asked in awe as he watched Sakura take down the large tree with a single punch. "If I am not mistaken, it seems to be like Tsunade-sama's famed super strength technique!"
"That's exactly what it is. Sakura-chan has perfect chakra control. She is using that control to release burst of chakra to increase her strength many time over. She decided to surpass Tsunade of the Densetsu no Sannin." Iruka nodded when he noticed Naruto's eyes.
"What happened to your eyes?"
"Huh, oh it is the final state of my taijutsu style. I merge my chakra with natural energy and coat my body in it. It strengthens my strength to levels even beyond Sakura-chan's while it also gives me very strong sensory abilities. If I need to, I can fight Mizuki with my eyes closed." Naruto said causing Iruka to gape at Naruto before an explosion drew his attention to Sakura and Mizuki's fight. He watched as multiple explosive tags exploded around Sakura. To his shock, Sakura was not there when the smoke cleared.
"Sakrua-chan is wasting too much time. She doesn't have the stamina to continue for much long." Naruto said causing Iruka to look worried. Before he could voice his worry, Sakura appeared beside them from underground.
"I thought he would be a push over and he is, but he isn't letting me get close enough. You will have to defeat him Naruto. I will watch over Iruka-sensei." Sakura said as she panted lightly.
Naruto created five clones and rushed Mizuki who was drinking some kind of purple liquid from a vial. Just as Naruto and his clones reached Mizuki, the traitor convulsed before he started mutating in to a man-lion hybrid. Jumping back, Naruto and his clones watched with disgust as Mizuki's muscles bulged up and his hand and feet grew claws.
"What the hell is happening with him?" Iruka asked only for Mizuki to give of a demonic laugh.
"This is just a bit of the power Orochimaru-sama has offered me! Now all of you will die here!" Mizuki said before he rushed towards Naruto and his clones with increased speeds. Just as Mizuki was about to bring down his clawed hand at Naruto, a clone kicked the mutated Mizuki away as the original was weaving hand seals.
"What will a puny jutsu do to me?" Mizuki called out seeing Naruto weaving hand seals, as Mizuki was about to mock Naruto some more, Naruto finished weaving all the hand seals.
"Kokuangyō no Jutsu," Naruto called out causing Iruka to gasp as he himself, Sakura and Mizuki were caught in the technique.
"That's the Nidaime's genjutsu!"
"A measly genjutsu, you expect to defeat me with a genjutsu!" Mizuki called out as he brought his hands into the ram seal and released a pulse of chakra while calling out, "KAI!" To the man's surprise, the genjutsu was not being dispelled, "What is happening? Why isn't the genjutsu dispelling?"
"That particular genjutsu was created by the Nidaime before the creation of Konoha. It is a real illusion. Even the vaunted Sharingan or the all-seeing Byakugan are blind under the effects of this technique!" Naruto said as he rushed towards the blind Mizuki and proceeded to beat the man unconscious. After five minutes of constant pummeling, Naruto dispelled the genjutsu revealing a bloody and bruised Mizuki returning to his former human form.
"So you learned a genjutsu? I did not think you could learn any genjutsu with those massive chakra coils of yours." Sakura said causing Naruto to pout.
"Ahh, don't be like that Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, when Hiruzen appeared in the clearing with four ANBU. "Ah Jiji, you got my message!"
"That I have Naruto-kun. I do not agree with your methods but I am happy that your plan succeeded. Not only do we have proof that Mizkui was a traitor, you and Sakura-chan have proved that you two have good teamwork and are very skilled. Now let us head to my office so that I can debrief you two and Iruka-kun." Hiruzen said getting nods from the three. "ANBU take Mizuki to T&I and tell Anko and Ibiki that they have free reign on him. I want every little information they can drag out of his worthless carcass!"
The ANBU nodded as they picked up the unconscious Mizuki and vanished in puffs of smoke and leaves.
"Congratulations you two for completing your first A-Ranked mission, it would have been a B-Ranked one but with Mizuki transforming into that weird hybrid creature, an A-Rank is warranted. You can pick up your pay from the Mission Desk after you get your formal license. Now I have been waiting to ask this, but why did you two hide your abilities?"
Seeing the stern expression on Hiruzen's face Sakura gulped but Naruto just grinned. "A Ninja is supposed to look Underneath the Underneath. That means we have to see through deception. If deceptions are so common in a Shinobi lifestyle, why not use it to cause enemies to underestimate us. Therefore, we decided to hide our abilities until we are forced to reveal them. Are we in trouble Jiji?"
"No you aren't Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan. I just wanted to see why you two did it. I understand your reasoning. You two will be splendid ninja in the future. Both of you show the characteristic we look for in Konoha Chunin and Jonin. Your teamwork was exemplary and your individual abilities were nothing to sneeze at as well. If what I suspect of your abilities is true, then I can say that with a bit of experience, both of you will become Jonin within the year." Hiruzen said getting a nervous smile from Sakura and a bright grin from Naruto.
"You can hand over the hat within the year Jiji, datteboyo!" Naruto exclaimed as he stood up only for Sakura to pull him down back to his seat by his ear. "Itai… itai… itai… let go Sakura-chan"
"Calm down baka! If you keep behaving like that, I will oppose you getting the hat! Any Kage is supposed to both be the strongest Shinobi and the one with the coolest head as well. The Kage is not only a leader. He or she is also a diplomat who helps keep the peace between the villages though talks. You still have a long way to go before you are ready to become Hokage!" Hiruzen and Iruka watched with amusement as Sakura scolded the over excitable blonde jinchūriki, who had a sheepish expression on his face.
"Ahem…" Hiruzen coughed getting the two Genin's attention. Sakura blushed in embarrassment while Naruto turned his attention to the old man with a curious expression on his face. "As much as I am amused with watching Sakura-chan scolding you Naruto-kun, I have a large amount of paperwork to go through, an amount that has increased by a great margin due to Mizuki's duplicity. So I would suggest you two head home and have a good night's sleep."
"Sure thing Jiji, but why don't you use Kage Bunshin to help you do the paperwork. With the memory transfer ability, you would be done in half the time if you use only one clone, not to mention multiple clones." Naruto said with a confused expression while Sakura and Iruka observed Hiruzen's wizened face change expressions from confused to shocked to self-loathing to suspicion.
"Thank you for the tip Naruto-kun, but how did you know about Kage Bunshin and its memory transfer ability?"
"Ahhh… I may have peeked into the Forbidden Scroll and learned a couple of jutsu from it!" Naruto exclaimed with a nervous expression as Hiruzen stared at Naruto with an unimpressed expression on his face.
"What did you learn?" Hiruzen asked with a tone that brooked no argument.
"Kage Bunshin and its derivatives and the Nidaime's Kokuangyō no Jutsu, nothing else I promise!" Hiruzen stared for a few moments before sighing. "Alright Naruto-kun, now that I think about it, how did you defeat Mizuki within the field. It blinds everyone within range including the user. You have to be a sensor of un-paralleled skill to be able to fight blinded."
"Hokage-sama, he said something about coating his body with chakra mixed with natural energy, whatever that is, allowing him great strength similar to Tsunade-sama's and strong sensory abilities, stronger than mine." Iruka said getting a gasp from Hiruzen.
"Do you know how dangerous it was using senjutsu? You could have become a stone statue!" Hiruzen exclaimed as he moved beside Naruto's chair and kneeled down in front of the fidgeting Genin. "How did you even learn of the technique?"
"Accidentally Jiji, while meditating in Training Ground 44, I sensed a powerful presence all around me. I subconsciously started absorbing the energy and mixing it with my chakra when I felt a funny feeling in my feet. When I opened my eyes, I saw my feet starting to become stone. Using all my concentration to force the energy out before attempting to do it again, this time consciously and more carefully, after a few more failed attempts, I succeeded in being able to do it without becoming stone. I was experimented with it as I felt it was incomplete when I saw a small toad in the forest fighting a small snake. I sensed both giving off light auras of this natural energy flowing through them. Since I did not like snakes, I studied the toad and tried to copy its techniques. After a few more failed attempts, I was able to recreate the same flow of chakra and natural energy within the toad within me. Now I can fight just like that little toad!" Naruto said with a grin while inwardly he was sweating in fear of being caught in his lie. "Hey Kurama are you sure the old man will buy that?"
"Sure he will. Do not let another person know about you and that pink haired teammate of your being from the future. If others try to change the events, the future could turn out even more disastrous than before." Naruto sent a mental nod before turning his full attention back to the aged Hokage.
Hiruzen scrutinized Naruto for a few minutes before nodding, "Alright Naruto-kun, I believe you, but know that what you did was very dangerous. I hope you do not plan to teach it to anyone else. In fact, the Toad Summons Clan will be interested in you. My student, Jiraiya is the present Toad Summoner and Human Gama Sennin. I will see if a representative of the Toad Clan will come and meet you. Developing a Senjutsu style alone is rare. To be able to copy another style is unprecedented. Even being able to learn senjutsu requires a massive chakra reserves and extreme dedication. Hashirama-sensei had did what you did. He developed his own senjutsu style. The Monkey Summons offered me the chance to become the Saru Sennin, but I declined, as I do not have the time to learn their senjutsu style. Be assured that the Toads will offer you their summoning contract." Hiruzen said getting an excited nod from Naruto. "Remember Naruto-kun, senjutsu is a kinjutsu without a proper trainer or the proper chakra reserves and will power to use it. Do not teach anyone else!"
"Ano, Hokage-sama, Naruto had already started teaching me how make my own senjutsu style. I already know how to connect with natural energy. I just haven't been able to draw it in it." Sakura said getting a surprised look from Hiruzen. With a thoughtful look, Hiruzen made the ram hand seal and pulsed his chakra causing him to look surprised as Sakura's chakra reserves.
"You have a very large chakra reserve for one your age who isn't a Jinchūriki or an Uzumaki or both." At that, everyone looked at Naruto who gave a sheepish smile, "Most of your chakra feels spiritual in nature instead of physical, so it means that your chakra is mostly made of Yin Chakra. You have the reserves to learn senjutsu but I would advise building up you Yang Chakra a bit more before attempting to mix natural energy with your chakra."
Sakura nodded in understanding before she stood up and bowed, "Thank you Hokage-sama, I will make sure to do as you advised." Hiruzen nodded and made a small dismissing motion causing the two Academy Graduates and their teacher to stand up and move towards the door when a small puff of smoke caught the group's attention.
"Wait a moment you three! Gamaharu what have you come here for at this time of night?"
"Hokage-sama, I bear a message from Jiraiya-sama. Here is the scroll he entrusted to me," a small brown toad said as he handed Hiruzen a wrapped scroll who took it with a small thank you. "I shall be leaving now, have a nice night!"
"Wait Gamaharu, I have need of you. Young Naruto-kun there seems to have developed a senjutsu style similar to your clan's style senjutsu. I want you to inform your Sages and leader and see if they are interested in meeting with him." Hiruzen said causing Gamaharu to look at Naruto in shock.
"Child, would you please go into Sennin Mōdō? I need to see if it is true." Naruto nodded and calmed himself before he started drawing in the natural energy around him and mixed it with hi chakra. Orange markings formed around his eyes that had turned yellow with orange bar like pupils. Gamaharu observed the young blonde Jinchūriki for a few moments before he summoned an old green toad with gray beard, a cloak, and a wooden staff.
"Gamaharu, why have you summoned me at this time of night?" The old toad asked only to see Naruto in his Sennin Mōdō. "You child, who are you? How did you learn our style of senjutsu?"
"I am Uzumaki Naruto, the Future Hokage, datteboyo!" The old toad nodded, "I accidentally created an incomplete from of senjutsu which I then perfected after seeing a toad and a snake using senjutsu fight in Training Ground 44. Since I do not like snakes, I recreated the same flow to the toads. Am I in trouble gama-jiji?"
The old toad stared at him with a scrutinizing expression before he hopped onto Naruto's shoulder and stared at his eyes. After a few moments, the toad nodded to himself and jumped back to Hiruzen's desk. "You have an unconventional prodigy here Hokage-dono. Jiraiya has kept an eye on the child from time to time through us. We all know that he is not a good shinobi, but he has determination similar to Jiraiya-chan himself. He has been hiding his abilities it seems along with the pink haired girl. His present reserves are rival that of Senju Hashirama at his prime. The girl has a greater reserve than Tsunade-chan's when she fought Hanzo. These two shall be great in the future."
"I think so too, Fukasaku-dono. What will you do with Naruto-kun? I thought that you and your clan deserved to know that he created a copy of your style."
"His one is still crude to a certain degree. I will talk to Gamabunta and see if I can get him permission to sign our contract. It should not be a problem and I am sure that Jiraiya-chan would offer him the same in the future. Meet me at Training Ground 9 the day after tomorrow at noon. I want to see how far you are along with your mastery of our senjutsu style. Bunta will be there along with my wife to evaluate your worth. If you impress all three of us, I will take over your senjutsu training personally and make sure that you become in tune with nature to the same degree Senju Hashirama was. What do you say?"
"I would be honored gama-jiji!"
"Call me Pa, Naruto-chan. I am sure that you and the Toad Clan will become close." Naruto nodded in agreement, as he grinned. "Then I shall be off. Good night Hokage-dono and I hope that you don't mind us using Training Ground 9 two days from now?"
"Not at all Fukasaku-dono, in fact I and Enma would love to watch you evaluate him." The old toad nodded before he disappeared in a puff of smoke along with Gamaharu. "Alright, off to bed with you two and Iruka, I want you here after lunch tomorrow to discuss potential teams. With the new revelations, the teams may need to be readjusted."
"Ano Jiji what about my makeup ninjutsu exam? I learned the Kage Bunshin, so shouldn't I have already passed?" Naruto asked getting a surprised look from Iruka and Hiruzen, after composing themselves both nodded to the young blonde Jinchūriki.
"That you do Naruto-kun. You have mastered the hardest variant of the Bunshin no Jutsu. Come back here tomorrow for your head band."
"Ano Hokage-sama, if I may?" Iruka asked motioning to his own hitai-ate causing Hiruzen to nod in understanding. Iruka turned to Naruto. "Please close your eyes Naruto!" Sakura watched as Naruto closed his eyes and waited. Iruka took off his hitai-ate and then placed it on Naruto's forehead and tied it at the back. "Congratulations Naruto, as of this moment, you are a proud shinobi of Konoha. Wear my old hitai-ate with pride. I know you will honor the meaning it holds to a ninja of the leaf."
"Thank you Iruka-sensei! I promise to make you proud!" Naruto said with tears in his eyes. Beside him, Sakura watched with pride and hidden affection.
"Ahem, I think that you three must be going. I will quickly handle the paperwork and head home as well." Hiruzen said causing the three to blush before nodding and vanishing in swirls of leaves. Hiruzen smiled before he created ten Kage Bunshin and started going through the mound of paperwork.
"Why have you called me here Elders?" A gigantic red Toad asked as he hopped into a shrine like building where an equally gigantic yet extremely old toad sat with two smaller toads sitting beside the old one.
"I called a meeting between you and the Elder due to a human child who has gained my attention." Fukasaku said getting a surprised looks from the female toad and the gigantic red toad. The old one ignored everything happening around him.
"Why has a human garnered you attention Elder Fukasaku?" The red Toad asked with surprise getting a laugh from Fukasaku.
"Why wouldn't he Gamabunta? He created an incomplete senjutsu style and then after observing a fight between one of our own and one of Manda's in the Forest of Death, he recreated the same flow of senjutsu chakra we use. He even showed me that he was able to go into Sennin Mōdō without help. I have asked that we spar two days from now at noon, at Training Ground 9 in Konoha. I want to see how far along he is. I wanted to ask you two to help me evaluate his abilities."
"Who is the child Pa?"
"Minato-chan's son Ma, from the reports he may seem an idiot without talent but it seems that he and his friend has been hiding their true abilities. A true prodigy if I say so myself. Either that or he learns kinesthetically instead of reading about it. If it is the second one, then he may have trouble learning about Fūinjutsu."
"It would be a shame if he can't learn Fūinjutsu. Both his parents were great masters of that nearly lost art." Gamabunta said getting nods from the two elders while the large elder seemed to be sleeping.
"So what do we do about the boy? Do we wait until Jiraiya-chan gives Naruto-chan the chance to sign the contract or do we offer it to him?" Ma asked with confusion getting thoughtful looks from Gamabunta and Fukasaku.
"Let us evaluate him first. Then we can think of offering him the contract." Gamabunta said only for a cough to get their attention. They turned to see the extremely old toad cough and sit up straight.
"Great Elder?" Fukasaku asked with trepidation. The Great Elder never gets himself directly involved with clan matters unless he gets a vision. Fukasaku was afraid of what the Elder had seen now.
"Tell me, does the child have blonde hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks on his cheek?" The Great Elder asked causing the three other toads eyes to widen in shock. This was the most lucid sentence they heard out of him. Not even the Toad Sages, Ma and Pa had heard him ever being lucid.
"Yes he does old geezer!" Ma said with a shocked face getting a small chuckle out of the old toad.
"Good, good, that is very good indeed. We have found the Yōgen no Kō. Offer him the contract outright. I shall take him in as my apprentice as I had Hagoromo." The Great Elder said causing the other three toads to gape at the old toad. Not in living memory did anyone know of the Great Elder taking an apprentice.
"Of course Great Elder," the three toads exclaimed in unison.
"And call the present Toad Summoner here as well. I wish to speak with him. Last time I spoke with him, I was too deep in a trance to tell him all that he needs to know. I want him here by tomorrow morning. Moreover, I shall be evaluating him the day after tomorrow, so I shall go with you!" The Great Elder said getting shocked expressions from the three toads who just nodded in a stupor. "Then go, I must sleep. It has been over a millennium since I had a good night's sleep."
The three watched as the Great Elder got out of his chair and moved to the unused bed made of leaves on the other side of the chamber. He laid down and promptly started snoring causing the three toads to stare in surprise.
"Ah… What should we do now?" Gamabunta asked getting a shrug from the two younger elders.
"Why don't we just get out of here and go to sleep? I can reverse summon Jiraiya-chan tomorrow for his meeting with the Great Elder. We do not have to discuss Naruto-chan's situation anymore. The Great Elder has already decided to take him as his apprentice. We cannot over rule his decision, not when he finally decided to involve himself in clan matters again." Ma and Gamabunta nodded in agreement before the Toad Boss headed towards his home while Ma and Pa left for their hut.
Gamabunta was sitting at the edge of Training Ground 9 with Ma and Pa sitting on his head. On his left side, on a tree branch, Hiruzen and Enma were sitting while drinking a cup of steaming green tea. On his right, Sakura was sitting on a tree branch while pursuing a scroll of advanced medical techniques. On the other side of the tree that Sakura was sitting on, an old man with white hair, wearing an ornate kimono with a hitai-ate engraved with the kanji for oil on his forehead. The white haired man was going through a notepad and perversely giggling at random intervals.
Naruto was sitting in the middle of the field, meditating. The area around his closed eyes was pigmented orange. To those sensitive enough, they could sense the subtle flow of nature energy form the surrounding into the meditating blonde shinobi and then out of him. To the eyes of the experienced sages, they could see that the child was close to mastering Sennin Mōdō.
"How the hell did the gaki become this good in such a short time without any help? It should be impossible! Minato, Kushina, I hope you are watching over him. You two would be proud of how he is turning out to be!" The white haired man thought before returning his attention back to the note pad in his hands.
For the next half-an-hour, the group waited for the Great Elder to arrive only for Ma to keep getting agitated until she finally exploded. "Where the hell is that old geezer? First he commands us that he will test the child and now he is late!"
"Calm down Ma, I am sure the Great Elder will be here soon." Jiraiya said getting a glare from the old purple toad.
"This is unbecoming of a sage Shima-dono!" Enma said only for Ma to turn her frosty glare at the Monkey King.
"Besides, I have been here for nearly an hour!" A disembodied voice called out causing everyone but Naruto to jump in shock. A strong whirlwind formed on top of the trees behind the place everyone was sitting before dissipating to reveal the Great Elder sitting on a tree much too small to hold his weight yet not even bending in the slightest.
"How did we not sense you Great Elder?" Fukasaku asked in shock only for the Great Elder to chuckle.
"You lot still have a lot to learn about being a Sage. You two are good but not good enough yet. A Sage meant to become one with nature. You lot just absorb the natural energy and mold it with your chakra to produce senjutsu chakra. A true Sage would keep the natural energy flowing like the child is doing now. He sensed me the moment I arrived because he was flowing the natural energy through him instead of completely absorbing it to create senjutsu chakra." The Great Elder said getting shocked looks from everyone present. "Child, tell everyone how it felt when I was hiding!"
"The place you were seemed to be vacant yet the concentration of natural energy was considerably greater than normal and the flow there was unnatural to a certain degree." The Great Elder nodded with a pleased smile.
"And the feeling of the rest?"
"I could sense their chakra levels, their health and even to a certain degree, their emotions. Is that normal?"
"Yes that is normal for the style you used. The style Fukasaku-chan and Shima-chan uses is the imperfect version of Gama Sennin Mōdō. Tell me, why did you decide to flow nature energy through you instead of absorbing it?"
"I was training to decrease the time I needed to create senjutsu chakra by repeatedly creating and dispersing it. I have decreased the time by at least five seconds now." The Great Elder nodded before he hopped into position in front of Naruto.
"Keep that up and when you can do that ten times within a second, you would have mastered the imperfect version. After that, I will start training you in achieving a constant flow of nature energy even while moving. You will be molding senjutsu chakra as if you were born with it. With time, you would even be able to rival all the Bijū at the same time though I doubt young Kurama within you is pleased with my assessment." The Great Elder said getting wide-eyed looks from everyone.
"Kit, tell Gamamaru-jiji that he is still the senile old frog he was the day Father died!" Kurama roared in anger.
"Ah, Kurama says that you, Gamamaru-jiji, are still the senile old frog you were the day his… um… Father died!" Naruto said getting confused looks from everyone except Sakura and Gamamaru. The Great Elder laughed in mirth.
"It seems that the old fox still resents that comment I made about his ears looking like rabbit ones." Naruto laughed as well while Kurama was roaring in his mind about how his ears did not look like rabbit ones. "Anyways, all joking aside, let us spar. I want to see how good you are in the imperfect Sennin Mōdō."
Naruto just nodded as he crouched down before he jumped towards Gamamaru with is fist cocked back. Gamamaru just raised webbed palm and smacked the child away by barely moving his hand. In fact, everyone saw that Gamamaru just waved his hand and Naruto was smacked out of the air ten feet away from Gamamaru.
"Use the connection to nature to manipulate the air to dodge such strikes!" Gamamaru roared before he swung his staff at Naruto releasing a wave of visible greenish-blue chakra. Naruto's eyes widened in shock before he calmed himself and tried to do what Gamamaru had told him. He flooded the surrounding air with his senjutsu chakra before mentally commanding the senjutsu infused air to move him high into the air.
Everyone watched in shock as Naruto literally flew higher into the air before leveling out in a wobbly hover. Hiruzen and Jiraiya watched in shock as Naruto flew down and tried to strike Gamamaru on the head only for a wall of greenish wind to cause Naruto to bounce off, and nearly crash into a tree. Growling, Naruto used brute force to uproot the tree and then flew up into the sky with the heavy tree.
"What the hell kind of spar this?" Jiraiya asked in surprise getting nods of agreement from everyone else, even the hidden ANBU.
"Take this you old frog!" Naruto screamed as he threw the tree down towards Gamamaru who just thrust a tongue out, glowing with green chakra and shattered the tree into tinder.
"Kit, use my power. As much as I hate senjutsu, if we can combine your senjutsu with my chakra cloak, then we can fight better with the senile old frog. Maybe even defeat him!" Kurama said causing Naruto to nod his head.
"Good child, you understood what I meant. You have already partially mastered wind manipulation. Now show me your true power, I can sense it bubbling within you. Let it all out!" Gamamaru said causing everyone except Sakura to worry. They all realized that Gamamaru was talking about the Kyūbi's power.
Everyone watched as Naruto's whole body became clad in a golden cloak of chakra with black sealing lines flowing through it. A shocking development was the absence of malicious killing intent they all expected. The next shocking feature was the Naruto's eyes were still golden with orange eye shadow and bar like pupil with a vertical split running through the center of the bar like pupil.
"That is what I was looking for child. Show me how strong you truly are!" Gamamaru exclaimed before he tapped the ground beneath his feet with his staff causing the very earth below Naruto to tremble and transform into a giant toad mouth, which then tried to eat him. "Senpō: Mōdoku no hikigaeru!"
"What kind of jutsu is that?" Enma asked as the toad head made of earth tried to eat Naruto only for the blonde bijū-sennin to fly out of the way before materializing the head of the Kyūbi and pointing it down towards the rising toad head. Balls of blue and red chakra started gathering in front of the Kyūbi head before compressing into a black ball of dense black chakra. When the ball was the size of the foxes head, it contracted before the fox head roared releasing the ball. "The child already knows how to create a Bijūdama!"
The black ball glowed orange-red as it collided with the earthen toad head and exploded releasing a massive shockwave. Gamamaru just waved a hand causing a shield of green wind to materialize in front of him. When the shockwave dissipated, only a crater remained with Naruto flying in the air, the foxes head still materialized and Gamamaru calmly dispelling his wind barrier.
"Good, you and Kurama are well synchronized. In time, you two will be able to work together even better. Now I want to see you go into Bijū Mōdō!" Gamamaru demanded getting a feral grin from Kurama's disembodied head. With a sudden spike in chakra pressure, a body formed under the head, clawed hands, and feet along with nine flowing golden tails appeared as well. In front of the group, the Kyūbi stood with all its majesty.
"The Kyūbi!"
"It's free!"
"What should we do?"
The Civilians screamed in shock as the younger generation who learned that the Kyūbi had been killed watched in awe as a giant old toad jumped into the air and created a swirling ball of greenish-blue water from thin air before launching it at the Kyūbi. With a single flick of one of its nine tails, the Kyūbi easily crushed the ball of water before throwing a large tree at the hovering toad who raised his fist, glowing with a deep greenish-violet chakra, and rammed it into the tree causing the greenish-violet chakra to immediately encompass the tree before the tree disintegrated to nothing. "Senpō: Hakai Ken!"
"Alright Gamamaru-jiji, Naruto and I give up. We know when we are defeated and since this is just an evaluation spar, I do not think going any farther would be wise. Not with the amount of destruction that would happen to Konoha."
"Finally learned some humility, have you Kurama? Hagoromo would be proud of you. In addition, you young Naruto, you have proved yourself of strong mind, being able to remain happy and sane even with the burden of holding the great Kyūbi no Yōkō from the world. What's more, you have been able to remove the hatred he had for humans and befriend him, gaining a great ally to fall back on should you find yourself overwhelmed. I accept you as a Toad Summoner and my own Apprentice, the first after Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, the Rikudō Sennin. As his descendant, I expect great things from you!" The old Toad Sage said before he landed atop one of the trees under him. The Populace of Konoha saw the Kyūbi land opposite the Toad and bowed.
"Has the brat really removed the hate from the Kyūbi's heart?" One of the civilians asked getting confused looks from the children near her.
"It seems so and has complete mastery of its power as well. We should have trusted Yondaime-sama's sealing skills and his trust in the child. He should have been honored as a hero!" A man said getting a scoff from another man.
"Hell no, it just proves that he was the demon himself. We should have killed it before it had regained its power. Now it will just wait until it grows bored with playing a human and kill us!"
"Just give him a chance. If he had such power for so long, Konoha would have been destroyed long ago." A woman said when an ANBU Team appeared on a nearby rooftop along with many Jonin and Chunin appearing on neighboring rooftops. A Jonin with silver hair, masked face and his hitai-ate covering half of his face walked forward with a shocked expression.
"This can't be happening? How can a child barely twelve years old tame the Kyūbi? He is now like the Hachibi Jinchūriki!" The man exclaimed hysterically when an ANBU walked up to the man and patted his shoulder.
"I don't know how he did it, but he should be respected for achieving the impossible. He just graduated the Academy and already an S-Ranked Ninja. With the power of the Kyūbi at his disposal, there would be very few able to defeat him in battle. You should be proud of him Kakashi-senpai. He did what your sensei hoped he would. Yondaime-sama's trust in the child was spot on." Kakashi nodded before he rushed towards Training Ground 9 when the Kyūbi dissipated causing a small figure to fall from the sky.
"Should we follow him?" An ANBU asked getting a nod from his companion before all the shinobi and kunoichi rushed towards Training Ground 9.
"Naruto!" Sakura screamed before she jumped down from her perch and rushed towards the falling Naruto. Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Enma, Fukasaku and Shima following close behind. They all knew that they would fail to reach the blonde jinchūriki in time, yet still tried when Gamamaru flicked his hand causing a swirling platform of green wind to catch the falling Naruto before carefully setting him down to the ground. Gamamaru touched the downed blonde shinobi causing a green glow to suffuse his body before dissipating.
"Grand Elder, is he alright?" Fukasaku asked with concern as Sakura placed a glowing hand on Naruto's chest and another on his navel.
"Yes he is. He is just exhausted himself from using so much power. His body is not ready to handle Bijū Mōdō for more than a few minutes, especially not Bijū Mōdō augmented with Senjutsu. I have already healed him of the damage done to his chakra coils from the intense chakra flowing through him at that moment. He should be up within a few minutes and completely replenished of chakra as well. When he wakes, tell him that I shall start his training after he masters drawing in and releasing of nature energy ten times in a second. Until then you shall help him master Kawazu Kumite and the various Toad Style Ninjutsu we have, Fukasaku-chan."
"Great Elder, if I may ask what type of Ninjutsu were you using?" Jiraiya asked as Sakura stood up causing the green glow around her palms to fade. At this moment, Kakashi and the rest of the Shinobi and Kunoichi arrived at the training ground.
"Hokage-sama, are you alright?" an ANBU asked causing Hiruzen to motion for silence.
"What I was using wasn't Ninjutsu child. It was Ninshu, the techniques created by my student Hagoromo. The one you know as the Rikudō Sennin. Indra, his elder son, created the Ninjutsu you use, while his younger son Ashura specialized in Ninshu and dabbled in Ninjutsu. Ninshu deals with the molding and manipulation of chakra and the elements through will power. Ninjutsu deals with the same through hand seals. While Ninjutsu is easier to learn, Ninshu is more potent. Now I must be off. It has been over a millennium since I have fought anything. I must rest." The old toad said before vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Hokage-sama, is it true? Has Naruto-san really mastered the Kyūbi's power?" A female ANBU with a cat mask asked getting a nod from the Hokage.
"That he has, not only that, he has also purified the Kyūbi's hatred for humanity and befriended it. With the stunt he and Gamamaru-sama pulled, it seems that I have to make an announcement and prepare for a Council meeting. Tori, I want you to go and inform all the councilors of a meeting two hours from now, both civilian and shinobi alike." Tori nodded before he vanished in a puff of smoke leaving behind a swirl of leaves.
"Hiruzen old friend, you better get back to your paperwork. I shall keep an eye on young Naruto until he wakes up with this young Kunoichi and the Toads. All of you shinobi and kunoichi, don't you have work to do?" Enma said causing most of the ninja to look sheepish and vanish in puffs of smoke leaving behind only a couple of ninja and ANBU, among them Kakashi and a male ANBU with a cat mask.
"All of you get out of here. Naruto-kun isn't a threat." Hiruzen said getting nods from the stragglers as they all left leaving behind Kakashi and the Neko ANBU.
"Why are you still here Kakashi, Neko?"
"Hokage-sama, with all due respect, we just want to make sure that Naruto-san is alright. I respect him for being able to befriend the Kyūbi and become a fully realized Jinchūriki at such a young age." Kakashi nodded in agreement with Neko's statement causing Hiruzen to nod in understanding.
"Alright you two keep an eye on him. Two hours from now, I want you two to bring him to the Council Meeting Room that is if he wakes up by then. The Council and I have much to discuss with him. Bring Sakura-chan as well, she knew about his abilities and has been hiding her own. The Ninja Council will be interested to know why a civilian did such a thing." Hiruzen said getting a nod from the two before he vanished in a puff of smoke and leaves.
A/N:
Japanese Translations
Senjutsu = Sage Techniques
Jinchūriki = Power of a Human Sacrifice
Densetsu no Sannin = Legendary Sannin
Genjutsu = Illusion Techniques
Iryō = Medical
Taijutsu = Hand-to-Hand Techniques
Gama Sennin = Toad Sage
Saru Sennin = Monkey Sage
Sennin Mōdō = Sage Mode
A/N:
Japanese Jutsu, Style and Weapon Name Translations
Kage Bunshin = Shadow Clone
Moguragakure no Jutsu = Hiding like a Mole Technique
Shunshin = Body Flicker
Kokuangyō no Jutsu = Journey into Black Darkness Technique
Senpō: Mōdoku no hikigaeru = Sage Art: Deadly Toad
Bijūdama = Tailed Beast Ball
Senpō: Hakai Ken = Sage Art: Destruction Fists
A/N: Hey Everyone! I hope you like this new chapter. Please remember to leave Reviews. The more Reviews I get, the faster I will publish another chapter, though I will try and keep it on a monthly schedule.
SSG.
